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Does All Semiconductor Manufacturing Depend on Spruce Pine Quartz? (2024)

Here’s an idea you see spreading across the internet every so often: that all semiconductor and solar PV manufacturing depends on extremely pure quartz from the town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina.

Here’s an idea you see spreading across the internet every so often: that all semiconductor and solar PV manufacturing depends on extremely pure quartz from the town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Interest spiked following Hurricane Helene amidst concerns that flood damage to the Spruce Pine mines might shut down supply: articles showed up in places like NPR, Forbes, and Axios. …The very best Spruce Pine quartz, however, has an open crystalline structure, which means that hydrofluoric acid can be injected right into the crystal molecules to dissolve any lingering traces of feldspar or iron, taking the purity up another notch.

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